The Price You'll Pay
by Silverflare07
Summary: There are things that haunt Ben, how could there not be, but when he gets the chance to rid himself of the nightmares. . .will it be worth what he would have to give up. . .? -now total Ben/Gwen-
1. Chapter 1

My second Ben 10 fic! Woohoo! I swear, Cartoon Network is evil, making two kids with such great chemistry and making them cousins...the bums! Did you know that in the original planning of the Ben 10 series, Ben and Gwen were just supposed to be friends, not cousins? I got so mad when I found that out. I was like "WHAT!? Cartoon Network I am going to kiiiiiiiiiilllllll you!!", while my friend just laughed at me.

Ah, good times.

That being said, this isn't necessarily a romance. You can choose to see romantic under tones to the story (as a Ben/Gwen shipper it was nearly impossible for me not to put them there), but the story itself is supposed to focus more on Ben and Gwen's relationship as a whole. I always thought that, if they hadn't found the Omnitrix, Ben and Gwen probably wouldn't be as close as they are in AF and this just kind of shows that. So, if you like Ben/Gwen read it as the prologue to their great romantic novel. If you don't like Ben/Gwen, then just read it as two cousins who have come to both relay on and mean a lot to one another.

Either way you can't go wrong!

ENJOY!

And I dedicate this one to all the Ben/Gwen shippers (even though, ironically, this isn't the most Ben/Gwen romance-y story I have in my arsenal of Ben 10 stories). Keep the faith alive, but give Kevin some love. He kind of rocks. . .just not with Gwen (unless Ben dies tragically in an alien related incident and Gwen has the proper time to mourn).

oOoOo

"NO!" Eleven-year-old Ben Tennyson shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. He felt the tears collecting and swiftly closed his eyes, trying to get rid of them. Super heroes didn't cry.

_It's just a dream; it's only a dream. _He repeated his mantra as quickly as he could, but all he could see behind his closed eyelids were the all too familiar images of his nightmare.

Suppressing a shudder he grabbed his phone and dialed. It rang a few times before a sleepy voice spoke to him.

"Hello?"

Ben gripped receiver tighter. "Gwen?"

"Ben." All traces of sleep left his cousin's voice and he could hear the rustle of her sheets as she sat up. "Is something wrong? Is there a problem with some aliens?"

Ben shook his head. "No. It's nothing like that. I just. . .needed to hear your voice."

There was silence on the other line and Ben was sure Gwen was wondering whether he'd flipped his lid. "O. . .kay. . .what's wrong?"

Ben took a deep breath. "I had a nightmare."

There was more silence before, ". . .Go on."

"It was about you and when I thought you'd died. Only Gluto wasn't there to save you and. . ." He trailed off and heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line.

"Oh Ben."

"And I just. . .I wanted to make sure you were okay."

There must have been something in his voice because Gwen was silent for a moment, but it wasn't the stunned silence he'd been hearing before, it was her thinking silence. "This isn't the first time you've had that nightmare, is it?"

"Pssh," Ben tried to play cool. "Sure it is." He could practically see the disbelieving stare and raised eyebrow that Gwen was giving him. "At least. . .it's the first one since we've been home."

"Ben, how often do you have these nightmares?"

"Uh. . ." He ticked off a few fingers. "Usually," His voice lowered, "every night."

He heard Gwen gasp. "Ben! Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Well before it was enough to see you. And when we got home we had that big fight with Vilgax and since he's gone for good I thought the nightmares might go away too. . ."

"Ben..." Gwen seemed at just as big a loss for words as he was. What were you supposed to say to the cousin you had spent "hating" all summer but would actually give your life for?

"Sometimes. . ." He looked down at the watch on his wrist. "When I think about how many people almost died, how _you_ almost died, how you were always being kidnapped, and how Grandpa got hurt, I just. . . sometimes I just wish I'd never found this stupid watch!"

He was crying now, but it didn't matter. It just felt so good to finally be able to vent to someone who would at least sort of understand what he was going through.

"Don't say that!"

Or not. Gwen's voice was sharp and Ben blinked in surprise. "What?" He finally choked out, shocked out of his tears.

"Don't you dare say that ever again Benjamin Tennyson. Do you understand?"

"But-"

"But nothing." She chided, almost sounding like his mother. "Look," She sighed, "I know that we got into a lot of trouble because of the Omnitrix, but we also had a lot of good times because of it. And yeah, sometimes it might have seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth but if it wasn't for you finding the Omnitrix I don't think we'd be as close as we are now."

"Gwen. . ."

"And I'd rather be kidnapped a million times and know that you're going to be there to save me than give up what we got this summer."

Ben nodded, smiling as he wiped away at his tears. "Thanks Gwen."

"No problem Ben. Now get some sleep, you dweeb," She laughed lightly and Ben joined her, "we've totally got school in the morning."

"Okay."

"Oh and Ben?"

Ben brought the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah?"

"If you ever have anymore nightmares. . .just call me if you need me, okay? No matter how late it is."

Ben smiled. "Okay."

oOo

"NO!" Fourteen-year-old Benjamin Tennyson shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. Rolling over, he grabbed his cell phone and hit the first button, activating Gwen's speed dial.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered and Ben sighed in relief.

"Hey Gwen."

"Ben?" The sleep had completely left her voice. "Another nightmare?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm okay you know."

Ben nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I know, I know. I just. . ."

"Needed to hear my voice." Gwen finished for him and he could hear the gentle smile in her voice. "Feel a little better now?"

Ben smiled. "Much. Thanks."

"Anytime."

There was silence on both ends and Ben wondered if it would be too much trouble to tell her what was on his mind. He had never been able to sleep well for a little while after those nightmares. Usually he turned on his TV and killed what was left of his (limited, according to Gwen) brain cells with some late night TV. Tonight though, he just wanted to listen to his cousin's voice.

"You want to talk?" Gwen asked finally.

Ben grinned, he loved how they'd gone from not understanding each other at all to knowing each other so well they'd didn't even have to say anything most of the time. "Yeah. That'd be great."

oOo

Sandra Tennyson sighed as she made her way back to her room and her husband. "He's up again." She said as she entered and shut the door behind her.

Carl rolled over and looked at his wife, already well aware of what she was talking about. "He'll be fine."

"But it's been four years! Shouldn't he have outgrown nightmares?"

Carl shook his head. "He's seen things that you and I can only imagine. He's been through things that no other ten-year-old has ever had to go through. You can't expect him not to have nightmares about it."

"But every night?" His wife asked, sinking onto the bed. "He's going to wear himself out if this keep happening. There's got to be something we can do."

Carl looked at his wife. "Why does that sound like a 'I've already checked into the situation and have a plan but haven't bothered to consult my son, who it most directly affects, and see how he feels about it'."

Sandra raised an eyebrow. "I never said that."

"Not directly."

Sandra sighed. "Okay. You're right. I've looked into a few psychologists to see if they knew what to do. I didn't tell them that our son turns into aliens of course; they'd have locked _me_ up if I had. But there's this one man, Dr. Franz, he says there's a hypnosis technique he can perform."

She stopped speaking and Carl placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Go on."

"He says it'll suppress all of Ben's memories from that summer. He won't remember whatever it is that's giving him nightmares. Dr. Franz says that that will stop the nightmares almost completely."

Carl looked surprised. "You really think that's the right thing to do? What if it's not what Ben wants?"

Sandra looked down, her troubled expression easily visible in the moonlight and her husband wrapped her in a comforting hug. "That's the thing, Carl. I just don't know. . ."

oOo

"You totally kicked his butt! You've _got_ to show me how you do that!" Ben opened his front door, holding it open so Gwen could get in.

His cousin laughed as she walked into his house. "Maybe. . .if you ask ni-Aunt Sandra? Uncle Carl?"

Ben came up from behind her. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing home?"

His parents shared a look before turning back to face him and Gwen. "Ben. . ." His mother started. "Maybe you should sit down."

"Okay. . ." Ben sat down in the nearest chair and Gwen plopped down onto its arm. "Did someone die?"

His father shook his head. "No. No one's dead," Both teens let out a sigh of relief. "This is about you and that." He pointed to the Omnitrix.

"The watch? What about it?"

"Honey. . ." His mother seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. "It's. . .well. . .we know you've been having nightmares."

Ben blinked in surprise. "How did you know about those?"

"You're mother's heard you talking about them at night a few times."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "You listened in on my conversations with Gwen?"

"No!" His mother quickly jumped in to defend herself. "I was up using the bathroom the first time, a few years go. We're concerned about your health. Sweetie, if you don't do something about this nightmares they're going to wear you down."

Ben shook his head. "There's nothing anyone can do. They're nightmares. I just have to deal with them."

"Maybe not." His mother pulled out a pamphlet. "There's this psychologist, Dr. Franz, he knows this special type of hypnosis. It'll completely suppress your memories of finding the watch."

Both Ben and Gwen's eyes widened. "What?"

"It would be like you'd never found the watch," his father took over the explanation. "So all these nightmares you have because of it. . .you wouldn't have them anymore."

"But what about all the good times I had with the watch? I'd just forget them too?"

His parents nodded. "We want you to at least consider this Ben." His mother told him.

He and Gwen shared a look as she continued.

"If you think about it, I'm sure you'll realize it's for the best."

oOo

"Benjamin Tennyson?" A middle aged blonde lady looked up from the clipboard in her hand and smiled as Ben and his parents stood up. "Right this way."

They made their way into a large room. It was filled with plenty of textbooks and things that Gwen probably would have had a field day with. Behind an ornately decorated oak desk covered with more books, papers, and the ugliest lamp Ben had ever seen, sat a man who was probably in his late fifties. His hair was slicked back neatly and completely white, with eyebrows and a goatee to match. Ben was remind of the villain from that Cartoon show, Danny Phantom. The man smiled brightly when he saw them.

It didn't make Ben feel any better about the whole thing.

"Hello!" He stood up. "You must be Benjamin. I'm Dr. Franz."

"Uh," He cautiously reached out to grip the man's outstretched hand. "Yeah, that's me."

Dr. Franz smiled wider. "Wonderful! It's so good to meet you. I've spoken to your mother on the phone and she's told me all about your problems. She says they stem from a traumatic summer experience?"

Ben shot his mother a glare, which Dr. Franz noticed immediately.

"Of course, of course. This is a conversation that should be private. Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson, if I could ask you to step out into the waiting room. I assure you this shouldn't take more than half an hour."

Both Carl and Sandra seemed uneasy at leaving their son alone, not sure just how he would react to the hypnosis he was about to go under, but nodded and smiled at their son.

"We'll see you in a little while sweetie." His mother told him.

"Trust us, Ben." His father squeezed his shoulder, "things are going to be alright."

With that they disappeared through the doors leading to the waiting room and Ben was left alone with Dr. Franz. He turned back to the doctor and clasped his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "So. . ."

"Sit down Benjamin." Dr. Franz gestured to a plush chair across from his desk.

He did as he was told. "It's just Ben."

Dr. Franz nodded. "Of course. Now, Ben, would you like to tell me a bit about the reason you're having nightmares."

Ben gripped his left wrist out of habit, even though it had been years since Grandpa Max had figured out a way to take it off. "I was on a cross country trip with my grandpa and my cousin and. . ." His voice fell to a whispered hush. "My cousin almost died."

"And that's what you have nightmares about?"

Ben nodded. "Yes."

"And that's it?"

Ben felt a pang of anger rush through his chest. "That's it? My cousin nearly died! I'd say that's pretty traumatic, wouldn't you?"

"Death is a part of life, Ben, and you're cousin isn't often in life threatening situations is he?"

"She" Ben corrected automatically, "And no." Ben looked down. "At least not any more." He finished under his breath so the doctor wouldn't hear him.

"Then, subconsciously even, you should have been able to get over her near death experience quite a while ago, don't you agree?"

Ben looked down again. "I guess there's more too it than that."

Dr. Franz nodded. "And you don't want to talk about it, am I right?"

Ben shook his head. "Not really, no."

"Then there's nothing more to do but perform the hypnosis. Are you ready?"

Ben still looked uneasy, but he remembered his mother's words after Gwen had left the night before. _"I know you're unsure, but we think it's what's best. Please just give it a try. . .for us." _He nodded. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Very good." He folded his hands together underneath his chin. "Now, this isn't going to be like the hypnosis you're used to seeing on TV. I don't use watches or pens. Just my voice."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Dr. Franz nodded. "Oh yes, in fact, the watch is mostly just the show. As long as you keep your mind clear, I will be able to hypnotize you without any trouble."

Ben was still skeptical, not of the actual hypnosis, but whether the doctor was actually going to be able to suppress his memories. Either way, he was going to let the doctor give it a try, if only to get his parents off his back. He frowned; he'd have to be more discreet about all his late night calls to Gwen. Maybe, if he was careful, he could trick his parents into thinking the tr-hypnosis had worked (he hated to call it a treatment because he knew he wasn't sick).

"Sure. . .go ahead."

"Alright, I want you to close your eyes." Ben did as he was instructed and the doctor continued. "Good, now I want to you relax completely. Let go of all of your thoughts and just concentrate on the sound of my voice."

Ben frowned, but did as he was instructed. It was fairly easy to slip into the state of mind that Dr. Franz was asking for. After a few seconds all he could hear was the doctor's voice.

"Now think back to the root of your nightmares, the summer trip you took with your grandfather."

Ben could see the foggy image of the Rustbucket traveling down a long stretch of highway. He could see the inside of the RV, Gwen typing away at her laptop, Grandpa Max driving, and himself, stretched out on the seat across from Gwen. The Omnitrix sat heavily on his left wrist.

"Listen to the voices of the past, Ben. Remember everything about that summer and your nightmares."

_-the feeling of being shoved- "Ben, look out!"_

Ben's breath hitched, ever so slightly, but he remained completely still otherwise.

"_This is all my fault. Grandpa's hurt because of me."_

"_That watch isn't a toy, Ben."_

"_The Omnitrix is on the wrist of a puny Earth child?"_

"_Going hero!"_

Dr. Franz's voice broke through the images and sounds. "Now stop."

There was silence in his mind.

"Now...it's time for you to forget. There will be no more suffering for you Ben, once you simply forget that summer."

"_That's IT? What's so amazing about a ball of string?"_

"_It's the Omnitrix or your cousin's life. The choice is yours."_

"_I'm taking a walk. Smell ya later."_

"_Cool! A new alien!"_

"_You're going to want to go Ben. Thanks for reminding me of that."_

"Let go of all the memories from that summer. All the memories that help fuel the nightmares."

_-A hug- "That is the nicest thing you have EVER said to me."_

"_So what if the watch wasn't originally meant for you? You've been doing a pretty good job with it so far."_

"_Benjamin," –a glare- "You need to start taking this more seriously. The watch has great power and you need to be more careful with it."_

"_She's not Gwen, I am! She cast some kind of body switching spell!"_

"_Whoa...Gwen's got some moves!"_

_-a determined face- "We have to save Grandpa!"_

"_I don't want down." –a ghostly voice- "I want out!"_

"_Goin' hewo!"_

"Forget it all Ben. Just let it all go."

"_I'm Kevin, Kevin Levin."_

"_This is my favorite part," –laughter- "Too bad you snapped out of it when the watch timed out."_

"_Come on Ben, let's go practice._

"_You dweeb! You need us! And that's okay. . .we need you too."_

"_Oh what fun it is to ride in an unairconditioned sleigh!"_

"_The thing about a crush is...sometimes you get crushed."_

"_Tame him! Train him! He's not a pet!" –gratification flooding through him-_

"On the count of three, you will forget all the memories connected to your nightmares in any way."

"_The watch for my cousin, Vilgax. Take it!"_

"_No! No!" –useless pounding- "It should have been me! It should have been me!"_

"_You trust me to help you kick alien butt, why won't you trust me to teach you how to dance?"_

"_You never needed your Lucky Girl powers to help out before. . ."_

"_My dad got a job in Bellwood, so I'm going to school here now."_

"_Time for an early recess, wouldn't you say Ben?"_

"One."

"_Gwen! You're alive!" –relief and some tears- "I thought you were dead."_

"_What would you do without me?"_

_-laughter- "When did you become my best friend?" ... "IDK? You're not going to turn into one of those cell phone commercials, are you Gwen?"_

"_Aren't you going to fight me Tennyson? I want my revenge, so you'd better be prepared to lose!"_

"_I remember how Ben's listening skills sort of stunk." –shared laughter- "I knew the only to get him here was by kidnapping you."_

"_The crisis was never Vilgax or Dr. Animo, was it? _Your_ Ben just needed a major attitude adjustment."_

"_Thanks Gwen," –a tiny blush- "for always being there."_

"Two."

"_Don't turn out like me." –a glance at future Gwen- "Don't forget the things that mean the most."_

"Thr-"

"NO!" Ben shot up, sweat dripping down his face. "No!"

Dr. Franz blinked in surprise. "Ben?"

"No!" He cried desperately, shaking his head. "I don't want to forget."

"Ben," Dr. Franz told him gently, "it's going to be okay. You'll stop having nightmares once you forget."

Ben shook his head. "I don't care."

Dr. Franz blinked in surprise again and Ben could imagine that he'd never had a patient this uncooperative before. "What?"

Ben sighed and his shoulder's slumped. "Maybe I'll forget, but I know Gwen never will and I. . ."

"Gwen?" The doctor interrupted.

"My cousin, the one that almost died that summer. _She'll_ still have all those memories and if I don't have them then who will be able to comfort her when she gets upset by them."

"You and your cousin often talk about your nightmares."

Ben smiled grimly. "Every night. That's how I fight the nightmares. And Gwen is right there fighting them with me." His smile softened. "Just like she always is."

Dr. Franz raised a questioning eyebrow, but choose not ask about what exactly always meant. Instead he cleared his throat and, when Ben's head snapped up and their gazes met, asked him a single question. "So, you don't want to continue on with the treatment?"

Ben shook his head. "I'd rather have nightmares every night and know Gwen's there to help me through it than give up what we got from that summer."

Dr. Franz smiled, "Well, then there's nothing I can do. I can't force a person into hypnosis and expect it to work. And a sloppy hypnosis job can be more dangerous than not doing anything at all." He stood up and Ben did the same. "Shall we return you to your parents then?"

Ben nodded, relief flooding through his body for the first time that morning. "Yeah, let's. I don't suppose we could just pretend that the hypnosis worked. . .you know, for my parents' sake."

Dr. Franz shook his head. "No."

Ben laughed silently. "Yeah, didn't think so."

The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder and led him towards the double doors. He opened them and they saw both Carl and Sandra Tennyson waiting anxiously for their son.

Ben looked up at Dr. Franz. "So how about how about you tell them while I run for cover?"

The grip on his shoulder tightened. "Not a chance."

Ben sighed theatrically, but he was unable to keep the grin off his face. "Didn't think so."

oOo

Gwen sighed and tried to keep her mind on the book in her hands. Dan Brown novels had a way of capturing her attention for days on end. Once she picked one up, it usually became impossible for her to put down until she'd finished it.

Usually.

But she usually wasn't reading the book to keep her mind off of where her cousin was. She didn't usually read books to keep her mind off the fact that, she glanced at the clock, at that very moment she was losing the greatest friend she'd ever had.

She wondered how much of their relationship would change when Ben got back from the hypnosis doctor. Would he back to hating her? To calling her a dweeb and an annoyance? She shook her head. She knew that was a little extreme. She and Ben probably would have become friends on that summer trip even if Ben hadn't found the Omnitrix. But would he be her best friend? Would he still be the boy that she could turn to with all her problems?

Probably not.

One of the reasons they were so close was because they'd had to keep the Omnitrix a secret. Certain people knew from that huge fight with Vilgax, but they still weren't allowed to talk about their summer, at least none of the supernatural parts. And since a lot of their summer had been supernatural, Ben and Gwen had often turned to one another when they needed to talk about their crazy adventures.

Their tight knit friendship and grown from that.

A knock on the door brought Gwen out of her thoughts and she looked questioningly at the door. She wasn't expecting any company and, as far as she knew, neither were her parents. She got up anyways, grateful to have a, hopefully, more successful distraction from her thoughts than the book had proved to be.

She opened the door and was surprised to see Ben standing on her stoop. His appointment must have been quicker than any of them had anticipated. He looked up at her and smiled. She gave him a small smile back, not entirely sure how to greet her cousin now that they were memories apart.

"Hey Ben," She glanced down at the cell phone in his hands. She frowned, the hypnosis had definitely worked; Ben hardly ever used to use his cell phone unless he needed information from the soccer team. _"Who would I text?" _He once told her, _"You're my best friend and we're almost always together."_ "Who are you texting?"

He hit the send button and looked up at her and smiled.

"IDK," Her eyes widened as her cell phone went off in her pocket. "My BFF Gwen?"

oOoOo

That's the end. Like I said, you could look at this as purely platonic or you could take it to have some underlying romance in it. It's completely up to you. As a Ben/Gwen shipper (although I do like Kevin, he's kind of hilarious in AF) I wrote it with the idea that they would someday come to terms with their romantic feelings for one another (hence why the nightmares were always about Gwen's supposed death), but this isn't necessarily meant to be it.

Either way, I hope you like it and can forgive an OoCness that may have snuck its way in.

Read and Review! They keep me going, they really, really do.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter of The Price You'll Pay! I know I said it was only going to be a one shot, but so many people wanted me to make it actually Ben/Gwen that I couldn't resist and had to give our favorite characters a happy ending!

I hope you guys enjoy it!

oOoOo

Gwen was afraid to blink. She was sure that, if she did, the boy in front of her would disappear. But Ben just continued to grin widely, as if he'd received the greatest gift in the world at the doctor's office.

"Well," He asked, "aren't you going to let me in?"

Gwen nodded mutely, still halfway convinced that this unchanged Ben was a figment of her imagination. She stepped aside and pulled out her phone as Ben walked into her living room. She flipped open her phone and read the text message Ben had just sent her.

_I didn't get that stupid hypnosis therapy. : )_

Gwen looked up from her phone to Ben, who was _still _grinning from ear to ear. "Why?" She finally managed to ask.

"Because," He caught her gaze and held it, "I realized that it wasn't worth what I was giving up."

There was five seconds of silence as Gwen processed the underlying meaning of what he'd just told her. Then, before either of them could blink, Gwen had taken the five or so steps towards her cousin and had her arms wrapped around his neck in an embrace that he gladly returned.

"You, Benjamin Tennyson, are the most amazing guy ever!"

Ben laughed lightly, holding his cousin closer. "You make it pretty easy, being so amazing yourself."

The stayed that way for a few more minutes before a coughing broke them apart. Both teens, blushing wildly, broke apart slowly and turned to face the intruder.

"Grandpa!"

Max chuckled and smiled at his two grandchildren. "Now why is that I'm the one who finds you in all these sweet situations."

Both teens blazed even redder at his reminder of the incident a few years ago when Gwen had attempted (rather successfully) to teach Ben to dance. "Well there was the one time when my mom found us asleep on the couch." Ben said, smiling and almost sounding proud of himself for proving their grandfather wrong at something.

Gwen flushed again (just when her cheeks were returning to their normal color!), but she couldn't stop herself from laughing. "That was the last time we were allowed to have sleepovers."

Ben made a face at her but then turned back to their grandfather. "What are you doing here, Grandpa?"

Max sat down on the couch and his look turned serious. "Your parents told me about the hypnosis treatment they wanted you to undergo. I wanted to see if you would go through with it and how well it would work. And I knew that, no matter what, Gwen's house would be the first place you came." He smiled knowingly at his two grandchildren, but they didn't seem to catch it.

He patted the couch next to him. "Sit, Ben, tell me what happened."

Before Ben could take a step forward there was a strange beeping and Max stood up quickly. "Actually, that's going to have to wait. There's been a plumbing emergency. We'll talk later."

And then, moving faster than a man of his age should be able to, Max was out the door and gone. Ben and Gwen blinked and watched as the trail of dust settled behind their grandfather. "How on Earth did I miss the RV?"

Gwen shrugged. "Same way I didn't realize he was in the house at all, I guess." She turned to face her cousin. "But you can still tell me everything that happened." She began walking towards the kitchen. "Let's grab a snack and head up to my room."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "You want a snack?"

Gwen turned and gave him a pointed look. "Don't you?"

Ben gave her a pointed look. "Do you even have to ask?"

Gwen laughed, continuing on into the kitchen. "Then keep your mouth shut and follow me."

Ben did as he was told and they made there way into the kitchen. After grabbing a bag of chips and some soda they retreated to Gwen's room, the one place in the house where they would have some privacy. Gwen settled herself on her bed and Ben made for her desk before deciding that he wanted to be closer to his cousin. He sat down onto the bed next to her.

"Okay, spill. What happened? Why didn't you get it?"

Ben crossed his legs and leaned against her headboard. "I was going to go through with it, partly because I didn't think it would work and partly because my mom and dad really wanted me to try it. So I walked into his office, he tried to get me to talk to him about what had happened that summer to give me nightmares, I refused, and then he performed the hypnosis. . .sort of."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Sort of?"

Ben shrugged. "Well, he started it, but I got flooded with all these memories, mostly of me and you, and I realized that if I gave up my worst memories, I was also giving up my best ones."

He and Gwen shared a smile. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to have nightmares and have no one to talk about them with."

"You know I don't get nightmares." Gwen told him, shoving him playfully. "That shouldn't have stopped you."

Ben shrugged, his face serious. "I didn't want to take that chance. I remember how hard it was to deal with the nightmares before I was able to talk to you about them and I don't ever want you to have to go through that. Even for one night."

Gwen turned to her cousin, a soft smile sliding across her face. "Thank you. For everything."

Ben nodded. "Of course. . .anything for you."

Something shifted in between them then. The silence in the house seemed more pronounced then ever and Gwen wasn't quite sure what to do. Her head seemed to be getting closer to Ben's and even though she knew she was supposed to pull away, all she wanted to do was close the distance. Ben's eyes slid shut and Gwen followed the suit. Their lips met seconds later in a tentative, gentle kiss.

They pulled apart a few seconds later and the silence screamed in their ears.

"That was wrong. . .wasn't it?" Ben whispered a few seconds later.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah. . .I think so."

There was silence for a few more moments as the cousins looked at on another, trying to figure out what to say next.

"It. . .It didn't feel wrong." Ben said finally, not quite brave enough to look Gwen in the eyes as he did so.

"No," Gwen shook her head lightly. "It didn't."

There was silence again and Gwen knew that it was her turn to break it. "What does this mean?"

Ben thought about it for a minute before answering her. "It means that I'll always be here for you. No matter what." He seemed to be, in that instant, a lot wiser than his fourteen years.

Gwen smiled, her eyes filling up with tears. Ben noticed and immediately looked panicked. "Gwen, what's wrong?!"

"Nothing." She swiped at her eyes. "Nothing's wrong. I just. . .they won't stop."

Ben wiped a few tears off her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. "It's okay. Cry as much as you need to."

Gwen nodded and launched herself into his arms, crying into his shoulder. Ben sat there and rubbed comforting circles on her back. It was rare when Gwen cried, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen it personally, and he was perfectly content to sit there and let her cry if that's what she needed to do. They sat that way until Ben's parents came over to bring him.

And for the first time in nearly four years, Ben didn't have a nightmare.

oOoOo

Ben glared as Gwen and Kevin laughed over a joke that he wasn't privy to. Ever since Kevin had joined the team he and his cousin had been getting closer.

Ben did not approve.

Of course, he knew he had no real claim on his cousin either. After that night almost two years ago, Ben and Gwen had decided that, no matter what they might have felt, they were going to try and move on. Neither he nor Gwen had wanted to even try and pretend that it hadn't happened, that was a plan that was always doomed to failure, but they didn't want to face it either. And Gwen was more than allowed to pursue other relationships with people who weren't her cousins.

That didn't mean that Ben had to like it.

Finally, however, he just couldn't take it anymore. He rose from the log by the fire and headed towards where they'd placed their sleeping bags (traveling around all the time, and being broke teenagers, left them virtually no other sleeping options) calling to them over his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep. Night."

"Night Tennyson." Kevin replied, not bothering to look away from Gwen.

"Good night." Gwen watched her cousin slink over to the sleeping bags, worry in her eyes (he always slunk when was moody), but decided not to push it. Instead, she turned back to Kevin, smiling slightly.

oOo

"_AH!" Ben watched in fright as two giant robots came flying at him. He took two fearful steps back and noticed his surroundings. He was on the barren planet that they had found the creator of the Omnitrix on. He almost smiled in relief. Any second now, Gwen's magic would smash the two robots together and carry him to safety. And then he would be able to rush to his cousin and throw his arms around her and everything would be all right._

_But the two giant robots continued spinning towards him at dangerous speeds. Closer and closer they came until Ben had to jump out of the way to narrowly avoid being cut in half._

"_Where's Gwen?" He shouted to Tetrax, trying to be heard over the roar of the firing lasers._

_Tetrax threw the robot he was struggling with into another and turned to Ben. "Ben. . ." The alien looked distressed. "She was taken by the Florauna. . .remember?" He was speaking gently, as if he was afraid the information might break the young boy._

"_But-but-but Gluto. . .he's species can regenerate itself! He saved her!"_

_Tetrax looked even more distressed at the mention of his deceased alien friend. "Ben, Gluto's species can't regenerate itself. Both he and Gwen are gone."_

_Ben backed away, sure that the alien was lying to him. "No! That's not true. Gluto regenerated himself and saved her! And then she saved me. . ."_

_Tetrax shook his head, no doubt thinking that grief gotten the better of Ben. "Ben. . .she's gone. They both are. And we need to concentrate on the battle that's going on now." He dodged another robot and Ben did the same seconds later._

"_But-"_

_Before he could finish his thought the ground beneath them began to rumble. Both robots and aliens stopped, more concerned with keeping their balance and finding the source of the rumbling than with their opponents. _

"_What the-"_

_Again he was cut off, this time as Florauna sprouted from the ground by the hundreds. The Florauna closest to Ben was holding something in his hands and for a second Ben wondered what is was. _

_He didn't have to wait long to find out._

_The Florauna all began to laugh, an evil laugh that sent shivers down everyone's spine, good and bad a like. The one closest to Ben dropped his parcel and Ben watched as it fell to the ground._

_He felt his heart break as the lifeless body of his cousin hit the ground before him with a sickening thud._

"_Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!"_

oOo

"NO!" Ben shot up in his sleeping bag and did his best to catch his breath.

From over by the fire both Kevin and Gwen stopped mid conversation and turned to face him. Kevin took one look at his disheveled appearance and shook his head.

"Nightmares Ben, really? Aren't you a little too old to be having nightmares?"

"Kevin!" Gwen reprimanded their. . . (friend? Enemy? Frenemy? Ben still wasn't quite sure which), standing up and making her way over to her cousin. "Don't talk about things like that when you don't know anything about them." She knelt down next to Ben, putting a hand to his cheek, and when she spoke her tone was much softer than it had been. "Was it the same one you used to have?"

Ben nodded, still not sure if he trusted himself to speak. The next thing he knew Gwen's arms were wrapped around his neck and she was pulling him close to her. "It's okay. I'm right here."

Ben did nothing but shake silently. He hadn't had a nightmare in so long that he was particularly rattled by this one. Kevin looked (understandably) confused. "What's going on?"

Gwen shook her head, "Don't worry about it." She turned back to Ben and began (to the shock of both boys) to make herself comfortable next to him.

"Uh. . ." Ben looked at his cousin who had dragged her sleeping bag over to his and had unzipped hers, dragged him out of his, and had unzipped his and spread it over hers. Before he had time to finish the sentence she had shoved him back down and had settled herself down next to him.

Ben gave up on trying to fight his cousin; he almost never won anyways, and just lay back down, pulling her sleeping bag over him. Gwen smiled in satisfaction and lay down next to him, curling up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Kevin raised an eyebrow at the interesting sleeping arrangements but choose (wisely in Ben's opinion) not to comment on it. Instead he just doused the fire and climbed into his own sleeping bag a little ways away.

After Kevin had settled down and silence had descended upon the campsite once more, Ben turned over so that he could see his cousin. "What was that all about?"

Gwen smiled and Ben realized with a jolt that all her features were highlighted in the moonlight and that she looked ten times more beautiful than before (and he hadn't thought that was possible). "You haven't had a nightmare in a while. I didn't want you to be alone. Even for one night."

Ben smiled, hearing the echo of his own words in her speech. "Thank you. I'm sorry I ruined your night with Kevin."

Gwen shook her head and Ben was momentarily distracted by her hair as it brushed against him. "Don't be sorry, you will always come before Kevin. Especially for something like this."

Ben blushed as the words did something funny to his heart. "You're the greatest."

Gwen grinned and bumped his shoulder with her fist gently. "I know. What would you do without me?"

Ben laughed softly and lay back down, pulling Gwen with him and finally speaking the words he hadn't allowed her to hear all those years ago. "I sure am glad I don't have to find out."

There was only the softest sound of recognition from Gwen; she was already half asleep. Ben smiled lightly and leaned his head over to brush his lips against her forehead. "Good night Gwen."

Ben settled down, secure in the knowledge that his dreams would be pleasant for quite awhile. It was amazing what simple knowledge could do to set a person's mind at ease.

It made his heart swell to know that, even if Gwen fell in love (or in lust), he would always come first.

oOoOo

Ben rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. It had been a year to the day since they had defeated the DNAliens and the memories of the final battle still haunted him. Nightmares weren't a problem anymore (well. . .usually they weren't). Now he was haunted by the look in Kevin's eyes as Gwen had chosen to save Ben's life over his.

Kevin had become a good friend to him (and possibly a bit more to his cousin) during their travels and Ben knew the decision on whose life she should save had nearly killed her. They'd both taken an extremely bad beating from the head of the DNAliens, and the watched had timed out, leaving Ben as just a human. So when two separate DNAliens had charged at them, Gwen (who had just turned from killing her own DNAlien) had had a split second to make one of the toughest decisions possible.

Ben had braced himself for death only to see Kevin's eyes widen in fright and betrayal before he felt himself being lifted from the ground and placed down in safety a few feet away.

Both teens had immediately turned to Kevin, hoping against hope that there was time to save him. . .

Only to find Grandpa Max standing between Kevin and what was left of the DNAlien, holding a smoking gun.

Both teens had been so shocked at the return of their grandfather that it had been a few hours before either of them had been able to talk to Kevin. And when Gwen had tried to talk to him, he had exploded at her. He had accused her of a number of horrible things that Ben knew he probably didn't mean (Kevin didn't always think when he was upset). Kevin had finished his rant by hoping they were happy in their sick little lives together and that he never wanted to see either of them again, before storming into his car and driving away.

Neither he nor Gwen had heard from him since.

Ben had never figured out why Gwen had made the choice she had made. She never wanted to talk about that day unless it was about their Grandfather's miraculous return (he'd apparently been sucked into the Null Void when the mechanism had blown up and had only lost his arm in the process). Ben was curious to know how she had seen the events of the night, but didn't want to push her.

She would talk to him when, and if, she was ready.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts and he got out bed wondering who would be calling on him at three in the morning. Glad that his roommate had opted to go home for the weekend (he hated to be disturbed in the middle of the night), Ben opened his door and was surprised to see Gwen standing on the other side, wrapped in a blue blanket.

"Gwen?" He blinked just to make sure that the girl was really there. Not that it was unusual to see his cousin, they did go to the same university after all, it's just that curfew for members of the opposite sex was one a.m. on weekends and Gwen wasn't one for breaking the rules. "What's wrong?"

Gwen pulled her blanket tighter around her. "I. . .couldn't sleep." She confessed. "Could we talk?"

Ben nodded and stepped aside so that she could hurry into the room before his resident advisor could catch them. He closed the door softly and turned back to find Gwen already sitting on her bed, legs pulled up to her chest. He made his way to his bed and sat down beside her. "You've been thinking about the battle last year, haven't you?"

Gwen nodded and Ben could clearly see the pain in her eyes. "Yeah." She whispered. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, choosing between you and Kevin like that." She shook her head. "And knowing that I made the right decision doesn't make it any easier to handle."

"Especially with how Kevin flipped out. But you and I both know he was just angry and he'll find us when he's ready to talk."

Gwen looked up at him. "It's been a year Ben."

Ben smiled gently. "It's Kevin we're talking about, remember? He probably cooled off a week after it happened and has spent the rest of the time antagonizing over how he's going to swallow his pride and apologize."

Gwen smiled slightly at that. "Yeah, you're right."

There was silence for a minute while Ben worked up the nerve to ask his cousin the question that had been weighing on his mind for exactly one year. "Why. . .why did you choose to save me? Instead of Kevin, I mean."

Gwen was silent for a moment and Ben's hopes for her talking to him about that night were dashed again. Until finally. . .

"I chose the one that I knew I couldn't live without." Ben's eyes widened in surprise, but Gwen seemed interested in the sheets on his bed, and refused to meet his gaze. "I had five seconds to figure out who to save and so I asked my heart which one I needed to save. And it chose you."

Ben looked down, his heart was racing at her speech, but he had something to confess to her about that day. "I was. . .I was ready to die that day. When I saw the DNAliens coming after us, I knew that one of us wasn't going to walk away from that fight. And I thought that you would pick Kevin."

Gwen's head snapped up. "What? How could you think that?"

Ben shrugged. "It's not that I thought you wanted me to die. Gwen, you're my best friend and, if you hadn't chosen me, I would have died with the knowledge that it was the toughest decision you'd ever had to make and that you would miss me until _you_ died. And you and Kevin were. . . well, whatever you were becoming."

Gwen shook her head. "Kevin is a great guy, and I really liked him, but I didn't like him that way as much as I thought I did. It makes me feel so horrible to say, but in some ways I think maybe I was trying to use Kevin to get over. . ." Her voiced dropped to a whisper and Ben almost missed the end of her sentence. "You."

Gwen looked up to meet his gaze and saw his eyes widen in shock. "I know that it's not right, and that after that night we agreed to let it go because it's wrong. . . but I can't seem to do that." Her shoulder's slumped and she looked, for the first time in her life, utterly defeated. "I'm sorry."

Ben shook his head even though she couldn't see him and couldn't stop the smile that was sliding across his face. "Don't be sorry." He grabbed her chin and gently forced her to meet his gaze. "I don't want you to apologize for that."

Red streaked across her face and, to Ben, she had never looked more adorable. "W-why?"

"Because," He moved his face until it was dangerously close to hers. "I don't want to have to apologize for this."

And he closed the distance between them with a kiss.

They broke apart, both breathing heavily but smiling more sincerely than they had in a long time. Ben wasn't sure about Gwen, but this was the happiest he had been since before they'd begun fighting the DNAliens. And even though he was sure that pursuing this relationship was going to be far from the easiest thing he and his cousin had ever done, he wasn't even the slightest bit worried. For now he just wanted to relax and enjoy the bliss that had accompanied that kiss. Only one thing could make it better. . .

His phone rang, the ringtone blaring in the silence. Both teens jumped and Ben scrambled for his phone, wondering who on Earth would be calling him this late. He flipped his phone open and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Hey Tennyson_." The voice on the other line said jokingly. "_Glad to see your still up at all hours of the night._"

"K-kevin?" Gwen's head shot up, her eyes wide and Ben grinned at her, knowing that things were going to be fine. "Hey!"

"_I know it's late, but I thought maybe we could talk. Why don't you bring Gwen out in front of your dorm, that's where I'm parked. You can use the Omnitrix if it'll make you feel better."_

Ben laughed, glad to see that all of Kevin's anger from that day truly did seem to have disappeared completely. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't think it's necessary. We'll be down in a minute though."

He shut the phone and turned to Gwen. "Are you ready to make this the greatest one year anniversary of the destruction of an evil alien race ever?"

Gwen didn't even bat an eyelash at the sentence. Instead she just nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!" She cried as quietly as possible, tackling Ben in a hug that knocked him over. "Everything is going to be okay again. We can go back to being the three amigos again!"

Ben raised an eyebrow, getting off his bed and shrugging into his coat. "Who called us the three amigos?"

Gwen grinned bashfully. "I did. . .sometimes." Then she grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. "Let's go get our friend back."

They made their way outside to find Kevin leaning against his car. He looked so much like he had when they'd last seen him that Ben was filled with the sensation of walking towards the car to go on another alien hunt. Shaking his head, he walked up to Kevin and stuck out his hand. "Welcome back. We missed you."

Kevin looked at his hand. "That's it? We're not going to talk about it or something?"

"Talk about what?" Ben smiled sweetly. "You went on vacation. . ." He trailed off and Kevin grinned.

"Works for me Tennyson." He grabbed Ben's hand and shook it. "It's nice to be back." He turned to Gwen, his expression growing nervous; he obviously recalled their last encounter. "Hey."

Gwen smiled. "Hi." She pulled him into a hug. "I'm glad your safe and that your back." Then she stepped back and made a point to grab Ben's hand in a less then cousinly manner.

Kevin eyed this and grinned. "I was hoping you guys were going to make some progress while I was gone."

Ben smiled. "Thanks. . .I think? So. . .why did it take you a year to get back here?"

Kevin shrugged. "I was mad for a couple days, maybe a week, and then I got over it and realized that I was being stupid. Then I spent a long while trying to figure out I was going to apologize," Ben shot Gwen an 'I told you so' look, "and then I spent the last three months trying to find you. For world famous heroes, you guys are hard to track down."

And Gwen smiled and was so happy that she threw her arms around her two favorite people in the world and had to fight back tears.

"Whoa. . .is she crying?"

Ben laughed at Kevin's astonishment. "Yeah, she does that sometimes."

Laughing, Gwen pulled back, slapping both boys lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up." Unfortunately, she said it while she was swiping at her eyes so the boys only laughed harder.

"So. . ." She asked, once they'd finally managed to stop laughing. "What does this mean?"

"It means," Ben told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to him so he could plant a quick kiss on her lips, "that we see where it goes from here."

oOoOo

_Gwen looked beautiful, but then, she always did. Except today she looked especially gorgeous, which was only to be expected. Her hair was down, and although she'd cut it, it still went down past her shoulders. She'd curled it lightly, leaving it to float around her face in an almost unearthly way. Her green eyes sparkled with a kind of radiance that only accompanied women on this day, and she seemed to float down the aisle, her form fitting white dress accenting just how much of a woman she had become. _

_Ben grinned as Gwen walked towards him. Everyone around them knew that this had to have been the happiest day of Gwen's life. She was practically glowing._

_Ben looked at Kevin from the place of the best man and gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his jealous eyes._

oOo

Ben sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Beside him, there was some stirring and he looked over to see Gwen sitting up and running a hand through her hair.

"Ben?" She yawned, neither of them were used to waking up in the middle of the night. "Are you alright?"

Benn nodded. "Yeah. . .it was just a nightmare."

Gwen's eyes widened, she was fully awake now. "A nightmare? Was it. . .you know, the one you used to always have?"

Ben shook his head. "No. . .it was worse. I had a dream that. . .that. . ." He shuddered theatrically. "that you were marrying Kevin." The last part slipped out in a whisper.

Gwen blinked at the man beside her. . .before bursting into laughter. Ben glared. "Hey! It's not that funny!"

Gwen managed to stop laughing and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry. But you have nothing to worry about. You know that I love you and you know that's going to be forever."

Ben smiled, this was his girl. "So I'm never going to have to worry about you marrying Kevin."

Gwen shook her head, moving her hands to cup either side of his face. "Never."

"Good." Ben murmured before leaning down to capture her lips with his in a heated kiss.

All was peaceful until. . .

"You know, I can hear you. . ." Kevin's sleep filled voice floated to them through the wall.

Ben and Gwen broke apart and began laughing as silently as possible.

"Watch it, if you guys aren't nice to me I'll move out and then your cover will be blown." There was teasing in his voice, so neither Ben nor Gwen took him seriously.

"Yes sir!" They said together, Gwen trying her hardest not to break into laughter.

There was grumbling from Kevin's room, but Ben and Gwen both choose to ignore it. Instead, Gwen smiled up at her boyfriend of nearly six years. "So no more nightmares, right?"

Ben nodded, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Rest assured, there will be no more nightmares for me."

Gwen's smile widened and Ben couldn't help but return it.

"Besides," He told her, bringing his forehead down to press against hers, "how can I possibly have nightmares when I have you with me."

oOoOo

Woohoo! It's finished. This took me forever and a day to finish because school started up and I kept getting distracted by a hundred different things that I had to do, but it's finally done.

And just in case anyone was a little confused about the ending, Kevin is living with Ben and Gwen and they're living under the guise that Kevin and Gwen are dating and Ben is rooming with them, because two cousins living together would be a little odd. . .

I hope they weren't too OoC, but there is quite a few jumps in time so I guess a little OoCness can be tolerated, but I hope that it's not too bad.

R&R and let me know!


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